Here is the first draft of text that I wrote for the opening of my website on Christmas Day 2011 – complete with typos and half-thoughts – saved for posterity:
Welcome to the home page of Dreamcircle. I am Elana (no last name needed here). This is going to be my new home of quite a few, different, multiple, creative projects over time. As each page is filled with something interesting and new, look to this home page to find out the latest news.
A short history of dreamcircle.com: I originally bought this domain over 10 years ago, tossed up a hopelessly mid-90′s design as a placeholder – and then didn’t do much with it. Now that I am dealing with advanced breast cancer, I decided I’d rather let the world know about some of the interesting things I have thought about and done over the years. I want to leave behind a creative legacy as well as see what I can create to raise funds to pay medical bills. Expect several blank pages on many of my links until I fill them up, one by one. (The “HOW TO HELP” link already has some useful info.)
To start things off, my first project is called “Beyond The Jumpgate.” Back in the ’90′s I had access to some excellent, specialized metalworking equipment. So I used that access to make awesome so-called “Jumpgate Pins” (actually brooches) for fans of a science fiction show I’ll simply call “B5″ here. I got to work in various metals, from stainless steel to mainly brushed and polished brass. High quality stuff.
Those Pins were a huge hit. I’ve finally sold nearly out all the Jumpgate Pins now. Only a handful are left as the Jumpgate Pins fade slowly into history.
That meant that my first creative challenge of Dreamcircle would be to find a way to make new brooches out of a completely different material. I’ve found my new medium.
See this book? Believe it or not, that artwork you see on the front is made out of CLAY. Not just ANY clay, but an amazing, advanced, very artistic medium called “Polymer Clay.” It comes in dozens of colors and types, from liquid to nearly solid, from earth shades to sparkling metallics, from opaque to translucent and more.
This special, artistic clay is NOT kids’ stuff. With enough talent, you can make beautiful artworks out of this special material which would worthy of a New York upscale art gallery. You sculpt it, you mold it, then you bake it at 275 degrees for around 20 minutes to harden it. From there, the creative possibilities are limited to your own imagination.
I started with the polymer clay late last July. It’s December now as I write this. I guess I should be proud to know that I progressed from being confused and squishing a white ball of clay around to making honestly beautiful, pro-looking brooches in about 5-6 months. That’s gotta be something, considering I deal with a whole lot of chemo-induced fatigue. (Before the cancer, I think I could have done that in about 2 months. Oh well.)
Anyway, the sparkling, colorful science-fiction-in-joke brooches seen on that “Beyond The Jumpgate” page are THE crowning example of my progress so far as of this writing. My goal was to have a transition project to help me travel -creatively speaking – from JumpgatePins.com to Dreamcircle. I’m glad to now say this has been accomplished.
Hand in hand with the “Beyond The Jumpgate” project is my new “Astronomy Brooches and Pendants” project for space fans. No longer confined to just the old “jumpgate” design, I can now create a brooch featuring nearly ANY astronomy image you can throw at me, along with any border color you specify.
The only constraint is my time. I can only do maybe 10 brooches a week at the most, due to ye olde chemo fatigue, but I am up for the challenge. If you ask me to make you a custom brooch, I will keep you updated as to my progress and send you pics for your approval before I ship them to you. Email me via the info on the Contact Page to learn how you can order an astronomy brooch. (Pendants are scheduled to come to this website later.)
Thanks for visiting! Please visit often to see what I have been doing lately and to see my new “circle of dreams” evolve over time. 
Sincerely…
-Elana